The invention relates to a process for palletizing containers, in particular drums, kegs, or other essentially cylindrical or barrel-shaped containers, on a load carrier and/or depalletizing said containers in which, when the filled containers and load carriers are palletized, the pallets are supplied via a transport system and the containers are gripped together as a container layer--in the form of a group of six or eight containers in an orderly arrangement--lowered onto the pallet, and the pallets containing the filled containers are taken away via a transport system, and upon depalletizing, the pallets containing a layer of empty containers are supplied via a transport system, the layer of containers is gripped as a group, removed from the pallet, and the empty containers and pallets are taken away separately from each other by means of appurtenant transport systems, as well as an apparatus to perform the process of palletizing and/or depalletizing.
In processes and apparatuses of the defined type, it has previously been the practice to move the individual containers or a plurality of containers arranged in an orderly pattern in a so-called container layer--in other words, in the gripped and restrained condition--not only in the vertical direction but also in the horizontal direction, either at the same time or consecutively. The transfer velocity and hence the rate of transfer is limited due to the need to limit mass inertia forces and to prevent the container layers--the drums or kegs, for example--from vibrating. These layers preferably are gripped simultaneously in a six- or eight-container arrangement.
The object of the present invention is to create a process of the type defined above as well as an apparatus for performing said process characterized by achieving the greatest possible container layer transfer velocity without causing problems due to mass inertia forces and vibration effects, which would limit the transfer rate.